StockNews.com Downgrades Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI) to Sell

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Crown Castle from $108.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Citizens Jmp upgraded shares of Crown Castle to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Crown Castle in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. New Street Research upgraded Crown Castle from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Crown Castle from $104.00 to $113.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Crown Castle currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $112.71.

Crown Castle Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE CCI opened at $102.91 on Wednesday. The firm's fifty day moving average is $102.10 and its 200 day moving average is $97.50. Crown Castle has a 52 week low of $84.20 and a 52 week high of $120.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.43. The company has a market cap of $44.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.49 and a beta of 0.93.

Crown Castle (NYSE:CCI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The real estate investment trust reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.72 by ($0.62). The firm had revenue of $1.06 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.04 billion. Crown Castle had a return on equity of 20.98% and a net margin of 18.59%. Crown Castle's revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.72 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Crown Castle will post 6.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Crown Castle

In related news, EVP Edward B. Adams, Jr. sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.37, for a total value of $850,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,528 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,183,563.36. This trade represents a 28.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Robert Sean Collins sold 3,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.72, for a total transaction of $384,192.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 6,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $689,944.80. This represents a 35.77% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 31,600 shares of company stock worth $3,362,752. Insiders own 0.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Crown Castle

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA grew its stake in shares of Crown Castle by 3.0% during the first quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 3,532 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $368,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Crown Castle by 18.9% during the 1st quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 672 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock valued at $70,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Abel Hall LLC grew its position in Crown Castle by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. Abel Hall LLC now owns 6,393 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $666,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Crown Castle by 36.6% in the 1st quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 448 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Crown Castle by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 37,357 shares of the real estate investment trust's stock worth $3,894,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. 90.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Crown Castle Company Profile

Crown Castle owns, operates and leases more than 40,000 cell towers and approximately 90,000 route miles of fiber supporting small cells and fiber solutions across every major U.S. market. This nationwide portfolio of communications infrastructure connects cities and communities to essential data, technology and wireless service - bringing information, ideas and innovations to the people and businesses that need them.

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